Vettel powers through free practice

It looks like Sebastian Vettel could wow Buddh all over again. Well, he certainly did so in free practice 1.

Last year, the budding Indian F1 fan base was familiar with two names - Ferrari and Michael Schumacher. Sure, Narain Karthikeyan and Force India were present but none could match the two institutions synonymous with the sport the world over.

This year though, is different.

The championship battle has been closely followed and all eyes were on Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. And as expected, Vettel topped the charts.

Sauber's reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez also had our attention (news has it that he is to replace the latter after the move to McLaren). He stepped into Sergio Perez's cockpit as the Mexican was unwell. We wonder if this was why Perez was the only driver who was a no-show at the autograph session.

Interestingly, Friday's free practice has brought in a much larger crowd than the inaugural Indian GP. And a well-informed audience. We spotted a fan induct another into the world of F1 with gestures on how the DRS wing works.